‘We need to start listening to disabled people’s needs’

Born out of grassroots activism by those with lived experience, one organisation is making a difference to the lives of disabled people across the region.

“We must move beyond the ‘we must fix people’ or they ‘need to be fixed’ attitude, and make it about changing society,” explains Lucie Martin-Jones of WECIL (West of England Centre for Inclusive Living).

“In some ways, the pandemic has shown how easy it can be to accommodate access needs – if the will is there. Before Covid, many people had to really fight for their right to work from home to meet their needs. During the pandemic, a lot of organisations realised that providing this flexibility was actually quite easy. These changes can be the difference between someone staying in university, or in work, or managing their health.”

Based in The Vassall Centre in Fishponds, WECIL is run by and for disabled people and provides support for more than 4,000 individuals across the region, from advice and advocacy to help with personal payments (giving disabled people more control and agency over their lives), young people’s services, employment and more.

All of the work is rooted in the social model of disability – the concept that disabled people are primarily disabled by barriers in society, from physical barriers to attitudinal.

“WECIL is about promoting independent living for the disabled community and helping disabled people to enact choice and control over their lives,” says Lucie. “We aim to provide a holistic experience for disabled people from childhood through to old age.

“The organisation was born out of true activism for change from people with lived experience. Being part of this movement is truly inspiring.”

The pandemic has disproportionately affected disabled people, increasing social isolation, challenges with accessing often essential medical appointments and therapy, and a dearth of specialist equipment or staff needed to adequately support disabled people with Covid.

During this time WECIL, alongside other organisations, has fought to highlight and tackle these issues.

The organisation not only leads projects aimed at supporting disabled people into work but also focuses on “upskilling employers” to provide more accessible work practices and environments.

Lucie explains: “It is about helping employers recognise the value of the disabled workforce and how straightforward it can be to retain staff who are disabled or become disabled while working for them.”

WECIL is also advocating for more emphasis to be put on the “power of the purple pound”, with many businesses not even aware they are excluding disabled people and therefore losing custom.

Lucie argues that a ‘codesign’ approach to accessibility and inclusivity is vital. “You need the people who use a space or use a service to give you their expert opinion,” explains Lucie

“Disabled people are the experts in their disability and know what makes things more accessible for them. We need to shift from consultations – which often take place late in a process and have limited options or impact – to codesign. We need to start by listening to disabled persons’ needs.”

WECIL is currently working with Bristol City Council and Locality on citywide pilot, Make it Local, which brings together community businesses and equalities organisations to test and develop a community-based approach to social care in the city.

“We are bringing the person-centred approach to the fore again,” says Lucie.

“Bristol generally is a progressive city and there are lots of positive initiatives around environmental issues for example. We want to ensure that the needs of the disabled community are included.”

Lucie adds: “There is growing recognition among (some) decision-makers that systemic change is required if we are to have services, and indeed a society, that is truly inclusive of disabled people.

“However, for this hope to become a reality, disabled people’s voices must be given far more prominence.

“The key is for disabled people and disabled people’s organisations to be given decision-making power. These organisations should not be ‘consulted’, they should be codesigning services.

“If we want to provide services that meet the needs of disabled people, our starting point should always be to listen to them. They are the experts.”

A blog by Lucie is published here www.locality.org.uk/blog/nothing-about-us-without-us/

Main illustration courtesy of WECIL

Read more: How we can tackle Bristol’s disability employment gap

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: